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Soarwhales
These majestic flying creatures are fantastically rare; only a handful are known to exist in all of The Eastern Realms. A mated pair of these beasts in The Unthangol Mountains was found and tamed by the Tuigan around the turn of the century. They intended to use them as aerial gunships. The Tuigan modified their magically enhanced ballistae and bombards to be carried on the creatures’ broad backs. The result was a flying platform capable of supporting over a dozen of these formidable weapons and their crews, on rotating platforms to give a 360’ field of fire with their magical long-range starburst shot. The soarwhales saw combat during the destruction of the cities of Unther in 1399 and again in 1413 when Mongke reduced the cities of Veldorn. After the death of Subedei Khatun, the pair was divided. One of the creatures, flying from a home port high in the Ulgarthan peaks of Thommar, is now being used by Mongke in his periodic attacks on The Utter East. The second remains at the original home port in the hills behind Demonblood Dam, where it is controlled (for now) by the remaining Noyan of Subedei Khatun, and used primarily to surveil the area. Description Hit Dice: 32d10+291 (467 hp) Initiative: 0 Speed: Fly 20 ft. (good) AC: 14 (–8 size, +12 natural), touch 2, flat-footed 14 Attacks: Tail slap +38 melee Damage: Tail slap 2d6 + 21 Face/Reach: 40 ft. by 80 ft./15 ft. Special Attacks: Breath weapon Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision Saves: Fort +27, Ref +18, Will +12 Abilities: Str 39, Dex 10, Con 29, Int 1, Wis 14, Cha 6 Skills: Listen +3, Spot +3 Feats: Toughness Climate/Terrain: Temperate and warm land Organization: Solitary, pair, or pod (5–20) Challenge Rating: 15 Treasure: None Alignment: Always neutral Carrying Capacity: Light 44,736 lb., medium 89,568 lb., heavy 134,400 lb. Advancement: 33–70 HD (Colossal) Breath Weapon (Su): A sky whale quickly empties its air bladders as a defense mechanism. This loss of buoyancy causes the soarwhale to drop 100 feet, leaving a cloud of paralyzing gas in a 10-foot radius around its previous position. Any creature caught in the gas must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 35) or be paralyzed for 2d4 rounds. Training a Sky Whale: Training a sky whale as a mount or beast of burden requires a successful Handle Animal check (DC 18 young, DC 25 adult). Sky whale young are worth 10,000 gp on the open market. Professional trainers charge 500 gp to rear or train a sky whale. Riding a trained sky whale requires a gondola or howdah. A sky whale can fight while carrying a rider. Riders and passengers may fight with no need for Ride checks. Backstory Sky whales resemble unusually large baleen whales that swim through the air instead of in water. They domesticate easily and are widely used as cargo transports by civilizations that occupy high places or have a predisposition to tall buildings. They are also used in island regions where uncertain seas make sea lanes scarce and unpredictable. A sky whale is a cross between a vehicle and a creature. It is not so much ridden like a horse as steered like a ship. A gondola is commonly slung under a sky whale to haul passengers, although occasionally a sky whale is outfitted with an enormous howdah so that passengers can ride on top. Both docile and strong, sky whales are used to carry tons of cargo over long distances. Quarry owners find especially them useful for delivering stone to customers hundreds of miles away. Sky whales are also used as raiding platforms by air pirates, and as sky yachts by the very rich. In the wild, sky whales are content to float calmly. They apparently do not need to eat, and they have no natural enemies. Their breath weapon is quite effective at fending off most predators. The sky whale is bred through intricate biomagical processes in the secretive islands of the Sea of Swords, where they raise them to become domestic freighters and blimps. Sky whales are a rare occurrence on their own, and many of the learned believe them to be completely extinct in the wild. It requires a minimum of four trained biomagical sorcerers to successfully pilot a sky whale. It is unknown how sky pirates have managed to fly these beings without the aid of the biomagical sorcerers, but it is suspected that, due to the erratic nature of their attacks, whoever is helping them has no idea what they’re doing. Category:Magical beasts